Investigation of the confinement odour problem in exported lamb using NMR-based metabolomics: a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Chemistry at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

Recent changes to the supply chain practices of meat exporters has increased the potential for consumers to be exposed to the phenomenon of confinement odour, the smell produced by vacuum or modified atmosphere packaged meat which has been chilled and stored for extended periods. This harmless odour, which does not indicate meat spoilage, can lead to the rejection of the product by consumers. This is a problem for NZ lamb meat producers as they form the largest group of exporters of lamb meat in the world, and their largest market is the UK and other EU countries. The processes behind confinement odour development are poorly understood. In this thesis, NMR spectra were acquired of meat, and drip extracts of meat from two different processing plants stored under different temperatures for 11-13 weeks to simulate conditions of exported meat during overseas shipment, transport to warehouse and retail display. The spectra were analysed by multivariate data analysis to find metabolic differences between meat which produces confinement odour and meat which produces either spoilage odour or no odour. Optimisation of extraction of metabolites from meat and drip samples was also carried out. The best sample preparation method for meat and drip included homogenisation by bead beating (meat samples only), protein precipitation using an acetonitrile, methanol and acetone solvent mixture, and removal of solvent by vacuum centrifugation. Multivariate data analysis demonstrated the ability to discriminate drip samples with confinement odour from spoiled samples and the former showed increased lactate concentration with low levels of leucine indicating the presence of Lactic Acid bacteria. The spoiled samples had increased butyrate levels which is indicative of the presence of Clostridium spp. Both bacterial populations were in a late stage of growth. This is consistent with confinement odour as an early indicator of spoilage. This result indicates the potential for drip to be utilised more widely for the analysis of meat metabolites. Additionally, samples could be discriminated by processing plant of origin using multivariate data analysis. Increased levels of pyruvate and decreased levels of glucose in samples from Plant 2 indicated their bacterial populations had progressed to a later stage of growth than the bacterial populations in samples from Plant 1.